Wake From the Nightmare SYLAR
by WriterJessMZ
Summary: When Sylar and Mohinder arrive in New Jersey they meet a hero who has the ability to cancel the superpowers of others. Has Sylar finally met his match? Full summary inside. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1 A Fateful Meeting

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**Wake From the Nightmare**

_A Sylar Fanfiction_

Writergirl17

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**Summary:** Mohinder and Sylar arrive in New Jersey where they meet Rory Stone. Unbeknownst to Mohinder, Sylar and Rory were college friends, but before she can out his true name, Sylar interrupts. It isn't long before Rory uncovers the truth about "Zane" and what he has been doing. And although they were friends, Sylar still wishes to gain control of her power. Too bad for our villain that he has finally met his match. Rory has the ability to cancel the superpowers of others and also cause consciousness fatigue. With the upper hand she and Sylar discuss his descend into the darkness and his possible salvation.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to "Heroes" except for Rory Stone.

**Author's Note:** I was a fan of Sylar since he appeared in the shadows. What is it about the bad guys that gets your heart pumping? Anyway, I always thought Sylar should meet his match and that match should be a strong female character hence, Rory. I'm not sure where this story will go, but I do know that I'm not going to let Sylar lose his edge. He still is greedy and wants all the powers, but I'm also going to show that he has a heart. Also, expect some romance to blossom, but it will border a love/hate line. Other than that, I hope you enjoy it and like I said, I'm not sure where it will go, so expect some twists and turns along the way.

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Chapter One – A Fateful Meeting

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The day dawned bright and jovial as they passed the state line between New Jersey and New York. It was a little after six and Sylar had been sleeping for a few hours. When he opened his eyes a sign proclaiming "Welcome to New Jersey, The Garden State" flew by and he smiled. It was only a matter of time before they contacted the next person on the list. Sylar hadn't seen the name; Mohinder was unusually quiet about it this time. That didn't matter. Whoever this person was, their ability would soon be his. Just another power to add to his increasing list. 

While they continued down the turnpike, Sylar couldn't help but call to memory the last few weeks. A lot has happened. He was kidnapped, tested on, died, escaped, attacked the cheerleader's mom, got shot, killed a trucker, received another ability, and finally met Mohinder. He mentally laughed at himself. If he were a writer his life would certainly make a best-seller. And the more he thought about it, the more he wondered how he even came to be where he was today.

Gabriel Gray. This was his name long ago, but no more. His name was Sylar, although right now he was "Zane". He remembered Gabriel. He was a weak watch matcher who could tell when people were broken. Unlike most people, his friends list was short and his family was out west somewhere. He was shy around women, clumsy around men, and tongue tied when it came to social interacting. It was strange to think they were the same person.

But now he was Sylar. A dangerous and clever predator. No one would dare cross him and those that did were punished. He had many abilities, most which were under his full control. While others, like the recently received super hearing, was taking some time. It took him hours to fall asleep because the rustling of the animals in the trees was like a marching band. Plus, Mohinder tapping his fingers on the steering wheel didn't help either. He wasn't worried. Dale said once she gained control of it she was able to do many things and he knew it was true. With this ability he'll be able to hear his enemy footsteps coming from miles away and hear their heartbeats as they are about to attack. He had always wanted to thank those who he killed, but unfortunately he could not.

"Zane?" Mohinder said softly although to Sylar it sounded like a scream.

Sylar turned to his new "friend" and nodded.

"Could you check the map for the exit number?"

"Sure," he replied and looked to the glove compartment. He concentrated, but then immediately stopped himself. It was the one thing he hated about being with Mohinder. He had to pretend he was "Zane Taylor" with the ability to melt objects. So many times he almost used his telekinetic power, but stopped before he did.

As of now, Mohinder was clueless, but he felt some suspicions surfacing in his thoughts. Still, he had no purpose of harming Mohinder unless the situation demanded it. Besides, without the good doctor's son, Sylar would not have the entire list in his reach. He only remembered a few names off Chandra's list and now Mohinder had the complete one. It was a fateful meeting between them and although their intentions were very different, Sylar was actually enjoying the company. But he still couldn't give too much away. Mohinder was smart and one small slip up could cost him everything.

Once he gained composure, Sylar unlocked the compartment and pulled out the map. He scanned the page, but already knew what exit. When Mohinder told him the town he had to hear it again for he had to be mistaken. He wasn't. They were heading to Brookfalls, Sylar's –actually Gabriel's –home town.

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**Thanks for reading! Chapter 2 will be up soon. Also, if you are a fan of Sylar please feel free to join my C2: What Makes You Tick? SYLAR. I am looking for staff and stories for the archive. Thanks again -- Jess.**


	2. Chapter 2 Rainy Day

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Chapter Two – Rainy Day

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Dale was right about one thing. She was able to hear rain from miles away. When the drops first appeared on the window Sylar wasn't surprised. He had heard the storm approaching and couldn't wait. As a child he loved rainstorms. The thunder, the lightening; it was like a dream. During some storms he would run around town with a friend that was long forgotten. Strange how the memories returned so easily.

The rain of course, put off Mohinder. Switching on the wipers he sighed, "I hope this doesn't last too long. This is not the best weather to meet her in."

Finally, he gave Sylar some clue as to who they were meeting next. It was a female. How old? He couldn't guess because Mohinder was quiet about this one. Sylar wondered just how different the number of men and women were on the list. Better yet, he wished he could view the list in its entirety. With the eidetic memory he received from that waitress in Texas all it would take is one look and the list would be in his mind. Unfortunately, Mohinder did not trust him completely, but it wouldn't be long until he does. And the day it happens, the list would be his.

"What's her name?" Sylar was bold to ask.

"Oh, her name is . . ." Mohinder started but stopped himself when he noticed a sign. "Oh, look, we're here!"

Sylar scoffed. Brookfalls timing couldn't be any worse. Yet there it was, just like he remembered. A small square light green sign with large black letters. "Welcome to Brookfalls, Home of the Falcons". Glancing ahead he saw it. The world he left behind so many years ago.

Brookfalls was like any small suburb. When first passing the sign there are blocks of Victorian style houses. With various colors and sizes not one was identical. This was the part of town resided by the business owners and executives and their families. Sylar remembered growing up and wanting to live in one of those glorious homes, but his family lived on the other side of town where the houses were smaller, but still elegant. But before they arrived there they entered the center of town, past the Victorian streets.

Dubbed Brookfalls Boulevard, this was where Sylar spent most of his boyhood. The two-mile strip contained dozens of shops and restaurants and a few small businesses. There was Sam's Pizza Parlor attached to the local grocery store. The Book Basement filled with novels that Sylar had read. The Closet, a family run clothing store, Travel Lodge, the local bar, McGee's Family Restaurant, and Sylar's favorite place, The Corner Shoppe.

The most popular hangout after school and weekends, The Corner Shoppe received much of its business from the students. With its wide selection of milk shakes, burgers, and mini arcade, no other place could compete with it. Sylar remembers spending most of his time here with his small group of friends. They discussed books, movies, homework, activities, and much more. He couldn't believe how much he had left behind and truthfully he was starting to miss it.

His memory trip was soon cut short once they passed through the center of town and headed into his home area. Resided by the "average" families, this area was filled with lovely two-story houses. Like the Victorian ones they were different colors, but all the same size. Sylar didn't say anything, but when they passed his childhood house he took it in.

Standing on the corner, it still looked majestic. Built with large blood red bricks he could see all the faces of those he killed. The large white windows were still adjoined with the blue shutters. The grass was greener and the landscape was different, but one thing did not change. On the second floor window near the back a dark stain concealed part of the white. Sylar caused it when he attempted shooting his rocket for his 11th grade science class. It spun out of control and collided with the window. It shattered a piece and permanently burned a small part. He laughed to himself as he remembered it.

Mohinder heard the laughter and turned curiously. "What's so funny, Zane?"

"Oh, nothing," he lied. "This place just reminds me of my childhood town."

Mohinder nodded. The rain had picked up, but that wasn't going to stop him. They were going to meet her whether rain, sleek, or shine. He had a promise to his father and the weather was not going to get in the way of that. Peering through the wet glass, Mohinder read the number on the houses carefully. They were getting close, but the rain was making it difficult to read.

_103, 105, 107_, he thought until he spotted it. "Zane! There it is!"

Sylar followed the doctor's finger to the corner house. Like his house it was created with blood red bricks and he thought that was significant. 111 Hunter Drive. The next hero and the newest ability to Sylar's list. Parking along the curb, Mohinder turned off the ignition and adjusted his coat.

"We're going to get a little wet," he told Sylar and chuckled. Sylar didn't care. The rain didn't bother him. He would actually get another chance to walk through it in his hometown. Together they stepped out, avoiding the puddles forming around the car. For a moment Sylar just stood there taking it all in. Here he was, standing in his old town, in the rain, about to kill one of its residents. It really shocked him how far one could fall or ascend for that matter.

When he turned around, Mohinder was already on the porch, sheltered from the rain by the extended roof. He hurried over so he wouldn't look suspicious and shivered slightly from the cold rain.

"Here we go," Mohinder whispered and raised his hand to the door. He knocked on the oak wood ever so gently, which was a nice change to his usual pounding. After a few minutes of no reply, he knocked again, louder this time. The sound caused a minor headache in Sylar, but he was slowly gaining control of this hearing.

"Perhaps she's not home," Mohinder guessed and knocked for a third time. Sylar believed otherwise. With his hearing he heard someone inside. They were walking around, pacing back and forth. They were certainly contemplating whether or not they should open the door.

"No, she's home," he said staring harshly at the door.

"How do you know?"

"Car's in the driveway," Sylar replied quickly. Nodding towards the pavement there was a black Dodge Neon parked.

"Yes, but she could always be out with a friend," Mohinder added and raised his hand to knock again. Instead he peered around to make sure no one was around. When he was certain no one was watching these two strangers he turned to Sylar.

"Listen, Zane, you stay here incase she answers," he explained like he was about to pull a James Bond move. "I'm going to go around back and see if there is another door we can try."

"Are you sure?" Sylar said trying to sound worried. He remembered that Zane was not the adventure seeking type.

"Trust me," he promised and pulled his coat higher. "If there's no answer there, we'll leave and come back later."

"Ok, just be careful."

In a flash, Mohinder disappeared and Sylar was left alone. Rolling his eyes he decided to ring the doorbell. He figured if she didn't answer this time, she was never going to answer. It didn't matter. He would take her power even if he didn't know what it was.

While he waited he looked out towards the street. He could hear everything going on in the houses around them. It was a Sunday and kids were home wishing the rain would go away so they could go outside. One older couple was whispering about him, wondering who he was and what business he had with the girl. He even heard Mohinder make his way through bushes to peer through one of the windows. But his favorite was the lonely girl inside. He heard no one else inside and figured she must live by herself. She was listening to a soft rock band and the oven was preheating. She was still pacing, but then she suddenly stopped. Finally she was approaching the door and he turned back around. She undid the locks and turned the knob. The creaking of the wood stung his ears, but it was worth it. The door was fully open and he glanced up with a smug smile. But it was swept away at the sight of two familiar hazel eyes.

"Gabriel?"

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**Thanks for reading. Please review. Chapter 3 coming soon. --Jess**


	3. Chapter 3 Old Friends

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Chapter Three – Old Friends

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He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or if all the power finally went to his head. For all he knew his super hearing could have tricked him, but he was certain it didn't. He was frozen in place by having heard his name and wasn't sure exactly how to respond. 

When he didn't move or speak she knew she had hit him off guard. She wasn't surprised. It had been almost four years—if she calculated correctly—since they have seen each other. One thing was certain; he hadn't changed . . . much. His jet black hair was a dead give away as was his unusually thick eyebrows of the same color. But it was his eyes that she recognized immediately. Dark and mysterious, just like the rest of him. She remembered spending hours trying to break through the barriers to learn what was happening behind those eyes.

"Gabriel? Is it really you?" she said again finally breaking him from his stupor.

"I'm sorry," he managed to say. After a moment of thinking he remembered there was only person he knew who had those brilliant hazel eyes. They belonged to his closest college friend, one whom he shared many secrets with.

"Rory? Rory Stone?"

"Oh, my God!" she squealed with a bright smile. "I can't believe it. What-what are you doing here?"

"I-wow, you haven't changed," he replied with a strange chipper tone. It was true. Rory never looked better. She stood at a lengthy five foot nine and was in amazing shape. Her large hazel eyes were complimented by her long, fine mahogany hair. A small tiny birthmark was placed just to the right of her nose and he remembered how her smile would cause it to lighten, making it barely visible. But then he remembered why he was here. She had an ability. An ability that he needed and the fact that they were friends wasn't going to stop him. Besides, she knew Gabriel, not Sylar.

"This is really weird," she chimed and rubbed her head. "I was just thinking about you the other day."

Was that her power? Did she have the ability to foresee the future? Maybe, and Sylar realized just how much that would help him.

"I don't think she is . . ." Mohinder said while appearing from around the corner. "Oh! Hello."

Rory wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but when she Gabriel smile at the stranger she figured they must know each other. He approached her, soaking wet from the rain, but had on a large smile.

"Good morning, my name is Dr. Mohinder Suresh," he said while extending his hand. Rory shook it hesitantly. "Forgive the intrusion, but I am . . ."

"Wait!" Rory interrupted. Mohinder and Sylar jumped at her exclamation, but let her continue. "Was your father Chandra Suresh?"

"Yes! Yes, he was," Mohinder replied cheerfully. "Did you know him?"

"Well, I knew his name and I read his book, but I didn't _know_ him," she explained and shifted positions. Sylar noticed that she was keeping her distance. She remained in the doorway farther in the house than outside. Her heartbeat was steady, but every so often it raced from her nerves.

"I read some time ago that he died. I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Mohinder muttered softly. He was still vulnerable when it came to realizing that his father was gone. "So you knew about his work?"

"I did. His book was really helpful to me."

"Why's that?"

"Um, I . . ."

"Don't worry, Rory," Sylar cut in and touched her gently on the shoulder. "I know what you're going through."

"Really?"

Mohinder couldn't ignore the tension between Zane and Rory and had to ask, "Do you two know each other?"

"We do," Rory answered turning her attention to the doctor. "We were college friends. He graduated before me, but we stayed in touch. Two years after he moved to New York, but we still talked." Mohinder turned to Sylar who smiled innocently. Rory continued, "But then a few months ago he vanished. He wasn't answering my phone calls or e-mails. I called his family and they didn't know anything and after months I gave up hope. But now here you are!"

"Zane, you never told me you knew her," Mohinder said and Rory's heartbeat changed altogether. Sylar looked up and saw her staring at him curiously. He knew what was going through her mind. She was wondering why Mohinder had just called him Zane. He didn't need a power to know that. If only he had realized it was going to be Rory and he would have planned something. Now he stuck at a crossroad and needed to think, fast.

"Well, Mohinder, you never told me her name," he said laughing nervously. At the same time he glanced towards Rory giving her a pleading look. His eyes said it all. Play along now and I'll explain later.

"Oh, yes, that's true," he chuckled to himself, but then turned serious. "Listen, Ms. Stone. My father was searching for people with abilities. Something that makes them different from everyone else. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Unfortunately, I do," she sighed and looked down to her shoes.

"He comprised a list of those people and you are on it."

"I am too," Sylar added, but Rory wouldn't even look at him. "I'm walking proof that his father was right."

"What do you mean?" she questioned her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Mohinder looked around nervously. "Um, perhaps it will be better if we do this inside."

Rory finally glanced upwards and looked around. Staring at Sylar she grew nervous. She didn't know why Gabriel was lying about his name, but she figured the doctor knew what he was talking about.

"Sure, come on in," she said and pushed the door open.

Once inside, Mohinder and Sylar stood side by side while Rory moved in front of the fireplace. It was cozy inside, like her mother had helped her decorate. It had a family touch with portraits of calming photos. Sylar smelt the aura of chocolate chip cookies and figured Rory was about to make some before they interrupted.

"So what are these abilities?" Rory asked crossing her arms.

"Right, Zane, please show her," Mohinder said and motioned Sylar forward.

"Ok, is there anything around here you don't like too much?" Sylar asked knowing he wasn't going to melt just anything. He had to gain her trust first.

Rory scanned the room until she found a cell phone on the coffee table. She threw it at Sylar. "That was my ex-boyfriend's. He left it here and I'm sick of looking at it."

"Ok," he replied. Looking around he found a small dish and put the phone on top of it. "Just stand back."

Rory did as she was told, but her eyes fixed on the phone. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but she was becoming impatient. She was still bugged out about the fact that Gabriel was lying to Mohinder.

Sylar leaned over the phone and reached into his mind to pull out Zane's power. It was tough with so many running through his brain, but he was starting to get the hang of it. Once the power was at the tip of his tongue he placed his hands over the phone and concentrated. Soon enough, the phone was no longer a phone, but a puddle. Afterwards, he glanced up and saw Rory standing frozen in place. He knew showing his power would break down her guard.

"Wow," she said to no one in particular.

"Yeah," Sylar replied and straightened himself. "It's incredible, isn't it? And there are more people out there like us."

Rory didn't know what to say. Her power was nothing like that, but just seeing someone else like her seemed to lift the weight off her shoulders. She also thought it funny that it was Gabriel of all people.

"What about you?" Mohinder finally said and stepped forward. Rory turned to him. "What can you do?"

Rory wasn't quite sure how to explain it. So instead, she concentrated and stared right at Mohinder. A second later he stumbled back and grabbed his head.

"Are you alright?" Sylar asked and reached out to catch him.

"Yes, I'm fine, but I just got a sudden headache," he explained and then looked to Rory. "You did that?"

She nodded slowly. "I can make it worse. I learned that the hard way. I was driving with my friend and we were arguing. At one point I got so mad that I just looked at her and the next thing I knew she fainted and we crashed. I had just a few bruises, but she's been in a coma for the last three months. It's like a can enter your mind and make you tired, put you to sleep, or even make you unconscious."

"That's incredible," Sylar sighed and a malicious grin appeared across his lips. Rory noticed, but wasn't about to say anything. She knew better, plus she had one more thing to say.

"That's not all I can do."

Both Mohinder and Sylar looked at her strangely. Mohinder never in a million years thought he would find someone with more than one ability. He knew his father was looking down on him and helping him through this journey.

"What else can you do?"

Rory shrugged and thought, _Why not?_ Uncrossing her arms she said to Sylar, "Do it again."

"But I already showed you . . ."

"No," she said harshly. "I _need_ you to do it again."

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**Thanks for reading ... please review. Chapter 4 coming soon. --Jess**


	4. Chapter 4 Collide

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Chapter Four – Collide

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Sylar wasn't sure where Rory was going with this, but he wasn't going to argue with Mohinder standing there. Just the fact that she had two abilities was making him anxious and he wanted to see what this second one was. Causing someone to feel dizzy was a weak power, but one that he could use to his advantage. This second ability sounded more useful and so he searched for something to melt.

"Here, use this," Rory called to him. The moment Sylar looked up she flung the remote control towards him. He almost missed, but managed to grip it. Setting up as he did before, Sylar leaned over the remote and concentrated. Rory was also staring, but not at the remote. She was staring directly at Sylar. Mohinder noticed her pupils start to dilate and saw the color change. Soon they were completely black and remained locked on Sylar.

"Zane," Mohinder whispered but to no avail. Sylar was busy pulling Zane's power from his mind, but something was wrong. He found the ability no problem, but it wasn't performing. By now the remote would have been melted, but Sylar could not concentrate to make it happen. He felt the power trying to break through, but there was an invisible barrier; a strong one.

"Mohinder, I can't do it," he finally muttered through hard breaths. Sylar glanced over his shoulder to look at the doctor who was transfixed on something ahead of him. Following his gaze, Sylar noticed Rory and her black eyes glaring right at him. It was truly a frightening sight and Sylar tried again to melt the remote. Again, he failed. He put all his energy into making it happen. He felt the sweat form on his head, but ignored it. He pushed hard against the barrier, but it wouldn't budge. His face was becoming red as he continued to push while Rory stood there without breaking a sweat. Finally, when he felt his knees buckle he sighed and gave up. The force almost knocked him on the ground, but he held his balance. Together, he and Mohinder watched while Rory's eyes returned to their normal size and color.

"Amazing," Mohinder said softly.

"You-you . . ." Sylar started while still catching his breath. "You can . . . block the powers of others."

Rory nodded slowly. Sylar couldn't believe it. This was exactly the ability he needed. Sure, he would need others, but this one was imperative. With it he could easily steal powers because they wouldn't be able to use their own against him. Inside, he was jumping up and down like a child on Christmas. Now all he needed was to figure out when and how he would attack. Clearly, Rory needed to be looking at the person to cancel their power. Therefore, he would have to attack from behind and when she least expected it. The fact that they were friends was literally thrown out the window.

"Wow, that is really incredible, Rory," Mohinder cheered and approached her. "How did you find this out unless you were in the company of another one like you?"

"Remember how I said I caused my friend to end up in a coma?"

"Yes."

"Well, she also had an ability," Rory confessed sorrowfully. "That's what we were arguing about. She wanted to tell someone, but I didn't want to."

"Really? What was her name?" Mohinder asked wondering if she was on the list.

"Tania Garner," Rory replied. "She was able to see things from miles away. I guess like a super-sight or something."

"Tania Garner?" Mohinder spoke to himself. "Yes, I believe she was on my list."

"Well, one day she couldn't see that far and wondered what had happened. She turned to me and saw that my eyes had turned black. After she shook me out of it, she was able to see far again. The rest is pretty much history. Together, we practiced our powers until we were able to control them. But then the accident happened and I moved out here because I felt responsible for her. That's when I discovered my other power."

"That's a interesting story," Mohinder replied and moved aside to think for a moment. Sylar had finally gained back his strength and was looking at Rory. She noticed his eyes and kept quiet. They needed to find somewhere private to talk and although Sylar wouldn't give away his full intentions, he would answer most of her questions he could feel parading through her mind.

"Two abilities," they heard Mohinder whispering. "I will definitely need to test this. Oh, Father, you were right and now there are some with _two_ abilities." Finally, he turned to them. "If you don't mind, Rory, I would like to run some tests on you."

"Sure, where?"

"At my apartment in New York."

"Why not?" she replied and gave a soft smile.

"Oh, thank you," he cried happily. "Now with both you and Zane I can continue my father's work!"

"Speaking of which," Rory added much to Sylar's disdain. "Have you found anyone else with abilities? Or have you just found Zane and me?"

"We did find another," Mohinder replied calming down again. "Her name was Dale and she had some kind of super-hearing. Unfortunately, the next day we went to her she was murdered . . . by Sylar."

"Sylar?" Rory said curiously. "Who's he?"

"I think he's more of a 'what'," Mohinder replied and Sylar glared at him. "He was my father's first patient. He came to New York to test him and something happened. Sylar went crazy and murdered my father. He's also murdered several people like yourself. He steals their abilities."

"What?!" she said stunned. "How could he do that?"

"I'm not sure. All I do know is that he removes their brains."

"Ugh! Talk about 'Night of the Living Dead'."

All this talk about himself was making Sylar uncomfortable. He feared Mohinder would say something that would spark recognition in Rory. Quickly he added, "We're not sure what he looks like or what powers he has, but we do know that he is dangerous."

"Precisely," Mohinder continued looking inquiringly at Sylar. Turning back to Rory he finished, "Which is why it is important that we got to you first. If Sylar found you before us you would be dead by now."

Rory scoffed, "Yeah, he can just try to kill me. With my power he won't be able to."

"You shouldn't underestimate him," Sylar said with a deep voice. "He's killed a lot of people and he won't stop."

Rory stared at Sylar austerely. Not only was Gabriel pretending to be someone else, but he seemed to know an awful lot about this Sylar. Could he have had a possible run in with him and now working together? She couldn't be sure, but she was going to find out why Gabriel was pretending to be someone else.

"What else do you know about him?" she asked Mohinder.

"Oh, not much more," he answered and tried to think of what he did know. "Like Zane said, he's very dangerous and won't stop that easily. I found a recording of him in my father's apartment. He said something about not being able to control the hunger, but he didn't want to. I searched through more files and discovered that my father called him Patient Zero."

"Anything else?"

"Just one more thing."

Sylar froze in place as Mohinder grew silent. He didn't need to lean in because his new hearing made even a whisper sound like a cry for help. Rory noticed his nervousness, which increased her suspicion, but when Mohinder cleared his throat she returned her attention to him.

"I was able to uncover the identity of his real name," he said remembering the file he had found with the tape. Before Sylar was able to stop him the words leaked from Mohinder's mouth and into Rory's ears.

"His name is Gabriel Gray."

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**Again, thanks for reading. Because I like reviews (good or bad) I will NOT post Chapter 5 until I have 4 new reviews. Sorry to be so pushy, but I like to know people's reactions. -- Jess**


	5. Chapter 5 Lies

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Chapter Five – Lies

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Sylar didn't need to be a mind-reader to know that Rory was staring him down. The instant Mohinder said his name her heart beat went from steady to barely beating at all. Everything seemed to become silent. The rain outside had finally stopped and the wind was like a whisper. Mohinder was busy thinking and Sylar tried to avoid her eyes, but he couldn't. He was curious to read them. 

The moment their eyes met he felt a hundred daggers surround him. If looks could kill or if someone had the power to do that, he would have been a goner. Rory's eyes were a combination of horror, fear, anger, and shock. Never a good sign. He could see that she wanted to shout out his name; reveal him in front of Mohinder, but something was holding her back. He thought it was strange because after a few minutes of them staring at each other, her heart beat returned to a steady rhythm. Her eyes had softened and he knew something was going on inside her head. Before anything could be said, Mohinder had joined them again.

"This really is incredible," he said for the third time. "Now, Rory, you have no prior engagements to deal with before coming with us?"

"No," she replied finally taking her eyes from Sylar. "I'm unemployed at the moment so I don't have to worry about that and after what happened with my friend I cut off all other ties just incase."

"Excellent," he cheered, but added, "But not in a good way."

"It's ok. I understand what you meant."

"Thank you. So now, why don't you go and pack a few things and I'll meet you in the car. Come on, Zane."

"Actually," Rory quickly said and grabbed Sylar's arm. He stopped and looked strangely at it. "Could Zane stay back to help me? My bags are stuck behind a lot of stuff in my attic."

"That's not a problem," Mohinder shrugged and patted Sylar on the back. "Don't hurt yourself."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Sylar said in a fake jovial tone. Rory also smiled sweetly, but the moment Mohinder was out the door she gripped Sylar's arm and swung him around.

There they were. Face to face. Old friends and now perfect enemies. Their eyes locked and the fire burned. Sylar couldn't believe she would come this close to him. They were inches apart. He hadn't been this close to anyone unless he was slicing their brain out. But here she was. Close enough to see right through him and he wasn't going to have that. With his hands at his sides he pointed his finger and sent her flying across the room. She landed with a thud against the wall beside the fireplace, knocking a picture off the wall. The jolt came as a shock and although Sylar pinned her there she didn't scream. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that you stole telekinesis from someone," she said in between breathes. "What else do you have?"

"You'll learn soon enough," he growled back before approaching her. He took a moment to observe her pinned on the wall. Funny, he thought, how even in this position she still looked calm and beautiful. She really hadn't changed since college. There was so much he wanted to say, but knew it was too late. Shaking his head, Sylar snapped himself back to reality. He had to remember that she had a power, two to be precise, and he could use them. There was only one part that was bothering him. Why wasn't she using her power to stop him especially now?

"He's gonna wonder what's taking us so long?"

"No, he won't," he assured her. "I can hear him from here. He's busy talking to his dead father thanking him for the strength. He won't worry for another ten minutes."

"Super hearing, too? Interesting."

"Shut up," he cried and wrapped his hand around her neck. Though not tight, it was enough to have her gasp for air. Lifting his finger he smiled evilly until he noticed her eyes. She had no fear and seemed to be expecting it.

"You know, this is usually the part where people start screaming," he told her and she laughed. He couldn't imagine what was so funny. Here she was about to die and he was about to have her abilities. "What's so funny?"

"What are you going to tell Mohinder?" she whispered. "What are you going to say when he comes inside and sees me dead?"

Though he didn't want to admit it, he realized she was right. It was too soon to kill her. Mohinder would definitely know who he was then. Furious, he moved his hand from her throat and released her from the wall. She collapsed like a rag doll and coughed slightly. She rubbed her neck where his hand had circled it, but there was no damage.

"Thought so," she snapped and then pulled herself up. "Now, I'm going to go grab some essentials. Please, make yourself at home until I come back."

Turning on her heels, Rory started for the stairs. She made it all the way upstairs without him following her. She knew he was busy wondering how he was going to swing this. She knew who he was; his true identity and she could reveal him at any moment. But she had no intention to. Instead, she would travel with them and stop Gabriel from killing anyone else. Hopefully, in time he would give up, at least she hoped.

Retrieving a small luggage bag she packed a few shirts and pants, undergarments, and toiletries. Finally, she approached her vanity and opened the top drawer. Inside was small velvet box with a necklace inside. A sparkling, silver necklace she received as a birthday present some years ago. Stuffing it in the bag, she slammed the drawer shut and glanced up in the mirror.

"What are you doing?" she said to herself. What _was_ she doing? She was going up against a man with abilities beyond her own. She knew of three powers for sure, but how many more did he have? Closing her eyes, she prayed that this was a smart idea. Otherwise she would be sacrificing her own life and the lives of other heroes.

Downstairs, Sylar paced impatiently. This definitely was not part of his original plan. How was he supposed to know that Rory was going to be on the list? He didn't and that's what bothered him the most. If he knew he would have planned something or at least have killed her before Mohinder got to her. He heard her upstairs shuffling through her things, packing whatever she thought was worth packing. If only her power was something different. It was a bump in the road, nothing more. He would eventually have her power and the power of others. He would just have to figure out a way to achieve those goals.

A few minutes later, Rory ran downstairs with the bag over her shoulder. Sylar stared right at her and she smiled. She was going to make this as painful for him as possible. Walking into the kitchen she switched off the oven and made sure the back door was locked. She grabbed her cell phone from the counter and slipped it in her pocket before retrieving her keys. When she returned to the living room, Mohinder had come back with a worried expression.

"Oh, good, you're ready," he said. "I was afraid something had detained you."

"No, everything's fine," she replied and brushed by Sylar. "It just took Zane a few extra minutes to get the bag."

"Wonderful, thank you, Zane."

"Don't mention it," Sylar muttered and watched Mohinder take the bag from Rory. Always the gentleman. He watched while the two of them walked outside together talking about the tests. They were both unaware of the plan that was formulating in his mind. Following suite, Sylar headed outside closing the door behind him.

"Oh, Zane, could you lock the door for me? Thanks," Rory called at the last minute and Sylar groaned. Every time she called him 'Zane' he hated it and she knew it. Turning around he opened the door ajar and locked it. At the same time he heard Mohinder slip a piece of paper into Rory's hands, but thought nothing of it.

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**Hey, sorry it took forever to update. Midterms had consumed my time and I was finally able to write it this weekend. Thanks for all the reviews. I read what you said carefully. I have spring break this week so look for a lot of updates!!! Thanks again, Chapter 6 will be up soon. --Jess **


	6. Chapter 6 Taking Control

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**Chapter Six – Taking Control**

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It wasn't that long of a drive from Brookfalls to Manhattan. Twenty minutes to be exact. They beat all the traffic over the George Washington Bridge and only encountered trucks on their way making deliveries. Mohinder, as always, was in the driver's seat, accustomed to New York driving. Sylar slouched in the passenger seat starring blankly out the window. And Rory was spread out in back listening to her iPod at a low volume, but to Sylar it sounded like a concert. 

He still couldn't believe this was happening. He was inches from the greatest power he could ever achieve, but it was extremely difficult to obtain. Rory would fight till her dying breath and though he would respect her for that, he wouldn't shed an ounce of pity. To her he was still Gabriel Gray, a weak-minded watchmaker who always dreamed of being special. Now he was Sylar, a strong-minded predator who was special and continued to improve. There was an animal inside of him and it was hungry. It survived on abilities and the more Sylar stole, the more satisfied the animal became, but it was never enough. The animal pushed him to do horrible things and controlled his actions. He didn't like it at times, but other times he would let it take over; it was easier when he didn't fight it because he would end up losing eventually.

What he knew for certain was that the animal wouldn't stop until it had taken Rory's power although it knew it would take some time. When she least expected it, the animal would attack and she would be finished. The thought made the animal smile, but Gabriel—who was somewhere trapped inside—didn't like it at all.

"What were you thinking?" Mohinder shouted to a truck that had just cut in front of him. He slammed on the brakes waking Sylar from his stupor and Rory from her nap. "You know that is one thing I won't miss when I return home."

"You're returning home?" Rory asked from the back pulling one of the headphones from her ear.

"Well, soon enough," he replied and stopped at the red light. "There are hundreds of people outside the United States, one is even residing in my hometown in India."

"Wow, I never expected that."

"Shouldn't we find all the ones here first before you go home?" Sylar added keeping his eyes on the streets of New York.

Mohinder and Rory both glared at him strangely. It was like they were thinking the same thing, but Sylar wasn't a mind reader—yet—and he couldn't be certain what it was they were thinking.

"I suppose, but it will take some time and I can not guarantee that we will find every single one of them," Mohinder responded and turned right. "Some could be dead or not wanting to be found."

"Their either ashamed of showing their ability or afraid they might lose it," Rory whispered to no one in particular, but Sylar knew she was subliminally talking to him. He glanced over his shoulder at her and saw that her eyes were burning a hole through his face. Turning back around he watched the people pass on the street.

Every one of them had no idea there were people out there with abilities beyond their imagination. Sure, they read about people in comic books and watch them in the movies, but they would never guess people like that actually existed. Sylar didn't believe it at first until he saw it with his own eyes and after that his fate was sealed. He was half expecting Batman, Superman, or the X-Men to show up and foil his evil plan, but they were created characters for entertainment. What Sylar and the others were . . . well, they were real. They were living proof that people like Batman, Superman, and the X-Men really do exist and they each had a purpose. Some were different from others as their ability was more advanced or important, but Sylar didn't care so long as all the powers would be his.

He was thinking so much that he didn't notice Mohinder had parked the car in front of his building. Rory had completely switched off her music and was collecting her bag. Mohinder opened the door for her and helped her out like she was a celebrity returning from a movie shot. Sylar stepped out and kicked a few pieces of garbage aside. He's lived here since he could remember, but the one thing he could never take was the amount of garbage littering the streets. It was distasteful and slowly killing the atmosphere.

Minutes later they were inside Mohinder's apartment. It hadn't been cleaned in a while. Clothes, towels, and papers scattered the floors, but the map was still untouched.

"Please, come in," he said to Rory. "Make yourself comfortable. And forgive the mess, I haven't been home much to clean it."

"Don't worry about it," she replied and walked in looking around. Though messy and dark, she could see how comfortable Mohinder was here. His father had started his work in this very room, which helped Mohinder settle in. Although it was not his childhood home, this apartment certainly served as a second home for both of the Suresh's.

Then she noticed the map. A large map with strings and pictures tacked on. She approached it carefully, not wanting the floor vibration to disturb it. It was probably the most beautiful and strangest thing she had ever seen. Post-its with names, addresses, and phone numbers clung everywhere and the strings of various colors made it look like some kind of scientific rainbow.

"This is what your father created?" she asked without taking her eyes from it.

"Yes," Mohinder replied and stood beside her. He pointed out several key facts, "These are only some of the people he found. The pictures, addresses, and phone numbers he found through various connections and the strings represent a pattern."

"This is incredible," she sighed and looked towards the New York area. There was a picture of a politician she knew a lot about as he was currently running. Petrelli or something like that. She found it strange that even politicians would have abilities. Moving along she noticed a Post-it with the name, address, and number of another person. Isaac Mendez. The name rang a bell as she recognized him as a famous painter.

"Isaac Mendez, I know him," she said and Mohinder stared curiously at her. "Well, I don't _know_ know him, but I'm familiar with his work. My friend once bought one of his paintings at a show we went to a while back."

"Interesting," Mohinder said and rubbed his chin.

"What is?"

"It's just funny how you all seem to be closer than you think. I myself have come across several people though I've lost touch with them. I've spoken to this Nathan Petrelli here and his brother Peter."

"I think we should go see this Isaac," Sylar decided to suggest. "I mean, we're here in New York. He can't be that far."

"I see what you mean, Zane, but I think showing up in a crowd would frighten him off," Mohinder explained although Sylar could tell he was lying. "I'll go alone and attempt to bring him here to introduce to you."

"Are you sure?" Rory asked. "I mean, what if this Sylar appears or worse what if he's there when you show up?"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," the doctor replied bravely although Sylar knew he would be shaking in his boots the day he reveals himself to him. "You two wait here. I made a few calls before I left so I want someone here incase anyone decides to show up."

"And what should we say if someone does come?" that was Rory.

"Try to keep them here until I return. Improvise."

"Easier said than done," Sylar joked as Mohinder took the Post-it with Isaac's address.

"Just be careful," he said before leaving.

Sylar listened closely. Something about that whole scene wasn't right. Mohinder would have easily brought him along if it weren't for Rory. Come to think of it, since they met Rory, Mohinder had been acting strange. He wasn't as open to share his feelings and ideas to Sylar and he was becoming distant. Standing still, he listened while Mohinder trotted down the stairs slowly.

"Well, well, we're all alone now," her voice interrupted.

Rolling his eyes, he replied, "And?"

"Well, don't you want to try again?"

His back to her, he continued to answer her questions. "Why would I do something like that?"

"Because you know you want it. Besides, it's perfect. You can tell Mohinder that Sylar followed you, killed me, and was about to kill you, but you melted him with your power." She thought for a moment. "But I don't if he would believe that or not. It is a little far fetched, don't you think."

She noticed his hands start to shake and she knew she was rattling him. It was exactly what she had planned on doing. When he continued to stare at the door she decided to step it up.

"Well, come on! What are you waiting for, Gabriel?"

"My name is Sylar," he whispered.

"I'm sorry?" she mocked and held her ear closer to him though he couldn't see her doing so. "You really need to speak up, Gabriel, because I can't hear you. I mean, you were always quiet, but never to me."

"My name is Sylar," he said again, louder this time.

"Sylar? I don't know a Sylar, Gabriel, I'm sorry. Is he a friend of yours? Can I meet him? Maybe we can hit it off because you and I never did. Isn't that right, Gabriel?" There was no answer. Sylar remained frozen in place, his hands now forming into fists. Rory smiles before saying, "Gabriel?!"

He had enough. It was like the cheerleader's father was holding him captive again. He wasn't going to go through _that_ again. Turning bitterly he shouted right in her face, "My name is SYLAR!"

When he saw her smile, he knew. He had fallen right into her trap. The moment he turned around he was done. She was staring right into his eyes, concentrating hard. Soon he felt his eyes grow heavy and his body ache. Damn her and her power. She only caused Mohinder to feel a headache, but now she was using more energy. Sylar tried to hold his balance, but it was no use. The headache and dizziness came as a sudden shock to him and Rory took pleasure in watching him struggle. After some time, he couldn't hold himself any longer and let his body descend to the floor. She had won this battle, but he would ultimately win the war. Then, darkness took him.

Rory stared at him, unconscious on the floor. She was amazed he even bought all that. She knew that calling him any other name but Sylar would send him off the deep end, but she didn't know how much he would lose it. His outburst frightened her so much she almost couldn't find the energy to render him unconscious. It didn't matter now, though. She had taken control and that was more important.

Suddenly, the door opened slowly and someone walked inside. Rory glanced up and saw Mohinder staring at Sylar's body on the ground.

"Is he out?" he asked cautiously.

"For a few hours," she replied and then after a few seconds of staring at each other, Mohinder and Rory shared a smile.

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**Hey everyone, sorry it took so long to update. Thanks for all the reviews so far and I'm looking forward to hearing more. Now things are really going to start picking up, so keep checking. Chapter 7 will be here soon! --Jess**


	7. Chapter 7 Forgotten Memories

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**Chapter Seven – Forgotten Memories**

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His eyes felt heavy as well as his entire body. His head was pounding like a hammer to a nail. Everything was a haze and he had trouble remembering where he was. Finally, when he gained his composure he lifted his head slowly. He was in an apartment, with a large map in the center of the room. A laptop rested on a desk ahead of him and every curtain was shut, shielding the sun from the room. Strange that the room felt familiar to him. Then a soft voice spoke from the corner. 

"Sleep well, Gabriel?"

Gabriel? Now he remembered. It all came crashing back into his mind like a wave. The rush was so immense it caused his headache to intensify. Groaning he bent over only to see he was tied in a chair. Duck tape was wrapped several times around each ankle and hand against the wood. He couldn't see it, but there was something else there. It was strong and smelled horribly. Gabriel? His name wasn't Gabriel. It was Sylar. He remembered who he was and closed his eyes to extract his telekinesis. He focused on the tape, tearing it apart with his mind. Unfortunately, nothing was happening. Glancing down at the tape he saw it was still tight against his wrists.

"What the . . ."

"I told you," the voice said again. He looked to his left to see a silhouetted figure rise to its feet from a table. "You can try, but it's stronger than you. You can't break through it."

When they came into view, Sylar remembered more. Standing before him was Rory. She had a smug look on her face like she was proud of herself. She leaned over, placing her right on his forearm.

"Sorry for taking it up a notch," she whispered. "But I had to make sure you were out for good."

"What are you talking about?" he muttered.

"He doesn't remember?" another voice said from the darkness. Sylar looked up again and saw Mohinder appear from the shadows. The good doctor who was trying to save his father's petty list and the college friend who was more beautiful now than he remembered; they had worked together to bring him down. But how?

Mohinder, as though reading Sylar's thoughts, said, "You guessed right, Mr. Sylar. I knew it was you and you thought you had me fooled." Moving over to his laptop he twisted it around to show him. On the screen was an article about a local musician found dead in his home. His skull having been sliced open. Zane Taylor.

"After we left my house, Mohinder passed me a note explaining everything to me," Rory continued. "He asked me to put you out so he could run some tests. And seeing that I knew who you were, I thought it was only fair to help him since you murdered his father."

Sylar started laughing. "You fools! You really think you can stop me? Don't you know who I am?"

"Yes, you're Gabriel Gray," Rory immediately replied sending his blood pressure up.

"No, you're a parasite," Mohinder corrected and reached into his desk drawer. He pulled out two different objects. The first was a large needle unlike anything Rory had ever seen and the second was a handgun.

"Whoa!" she cried. "Mohinder, what are you doing?"

"Setting things right," he answered and approached Sylar angrily. With both objects in his hand, he lifted the one with the gun and pointed it at Sylar's head. "You killed my father, you killed Zane, and god knows who else. You deserve to die!"

"Do I?" Sylar replied and smirked. "Maybe I was doing them all a favor. Most of these people don't know what to do with the gift that's been given to them. They're ashamed of it and strive to rid themselves of it. But me . . . I embraced my gift and realized the good I can do with it."

"Good?" Rory proclaimed and stepped between Sylar and the gun. "If you mean 'good' by killing innocent people than you need to consult a dictionary. What you're doing is wrong, Gabriel!"

"I told you, my name is Sylar."

Rory wanted so much to knock him out again, but Mohinder pushed her aside. Though he was bent on revenge, he didn't want Rory in the middle of this. She served her purpose and he was grateful for that. Now, however, he needed to finish what he started. Cocking the gun, he held it closer to Sylar.

"Mohinder, no, please!"

"Why not? You said it yourself, Rory. What he's doing _is_ wrong and he deserves to die!"

"I thought you wanted to run tests on him! Isn't that why you had me put him out?"

Sylar had moved his eyes from the gun over to Rory. He saw something strange in her eyes. She was angry with him for killing all those people, but she did not want him dead. She was pleading with Mohinder to spare his life and he found that odd. Because if she thought he would return the favor she was surely mistaken.

Turning back to Mohinder and the gun he scoffed. "Well, what are you waiting for? Pull the trigger. Or perhaps your father was right about you. You're too scared to face your destiny."

Rory could hear the gunshot going off in Mohinder's mind, but luckily he did not do the same in reality. Sighing, he lowered the gun and glared at Sylar.

"I won't kill you . . . yet," he snarled and put the gun on the desk next to his laptop. "You may prove useful otherwise."

Walking behind Sylar, Mohinder removed the cover from the needle. Neither Rory nor Sylar knew what he was doing and was quite curious. While Mohinder set himself up, Rory asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm pretty sure I can create another list with his DNA," the doctor explained and tested the needle. "So I need a sample of his spinal fluid." Sinisterly, Mohinder leaned over Sylar and whispered into his ear, "And it's going to hurt."

Sylar's eyes widened and Mohinder pushed his head forward. With excessive force he pushed the needle deep into his neck. The sound of it echoed through Sylar's ears and made him cringe. He screamed in agony while Rory covered her ears and turned the other way.

A few minutes later, Mohinder was busy analyzing the DNA in the bedroom leaving Rory and Sylar alone. She sat in the corner peeking out through the windows. The people below rushed to and from stores, restaurants and meetings completely unaware of the monster in the room. It bothered her to know that Gabriel was somewhere locked inside Sylar's mind. She had tried so hard to bring him out, but Sylar was stronger and wouldn't give up without a fight.

Meanwhile, Sylar was recuperating from the needle. It had hurt, he wasn't going to lie, but he also knew it would come in handy. If Mohinder was able to recreate the list then he could steal it and find them all. He knew after he got out of this he would find that Mendez who lived in the city. He wasn't too far; Sylar remembered the address because of his eidetic memory. Then he would go after the cheerleader again and then perhaps go after that one who's like him.

"Do you remember that really bad snowstorm?" Rory suddenly said from her corner.

Peeking over he replied, "What are you talking about?"

"That snowstorm, that snowed everyone into their dorms," she said again and turned to face him. "I was a freshmen and you were a senior. We were in the same dorm and hung out all day because classes were canceled."

"I don't remember anything from college," he lied. The moment she reminded him of the day he did remember. It was a chilly December morning when they all woke up to see they were snowed in. He remembered he had a final that day. Together with Rory and three others, they played cards in the lounge and ate warm soup and bread. No one was able to leave until the walkways were clear of the snow. It was one of his best and long forgotten memories of college.

"That's a shame," she said with a soft, motherly tone now. "I'll never forget how much fun we had. Just playing cards and eating. We all swore we gained three pounds because of it."

She giggled and Sylar did too, but concealed it with a cough. He wasn't about to give Rory the satisfaction, at least not now anyway. When he was slicing her skull then he would.

"God, I also remember that day in class when that girl was late and the professor yelled at her forever. We were gonna sneak out, but he finished lecturing her when we decided to go for it."

While Rory continued to talk about college memories, Sylar was thinking of a way out of the sticky situation he was in. Rory was clearly using her power to stop him using his, but she wasn't looking at him. There was something she kept a secret about her power and he was going to figure it out sooner rather than later. So he decided to sit there and keep trying to extract any of his powers. He tried for minutes with no luck. It was starting to exhaust him and he wanted to have full strength for when he could make his move. Finally he stopped and rested, thinking through other possibilities. Then, while Rory was in the middle of a story, Mohinder rushed into the room.

"Rory! I've done it! His DNA was exactly what we needed! I can create an entirely new list! My father was right all along!"

"There's a new list?" Sylar said from his chair. Mohinder stopped jumping and Rory rose to her feet ready for anything. "Excellent. Do you mind if I see it? Better yet, can I have it so I can sink my TEETH INTO IT!"

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**Hey everyone, finally here is Chapter 7. Sorry it took forever. Anyway, thanks for the reviews so far. Looking forward to read what you think of this one. Chapter 8 will be here soon. -- Jess**

**A/N: I borrowed some of the quotes from the episode "Parasite" so I must credit those quotes to the fabulous writers of that episode. Can't wait till April 23!!!**


	8. Chapter 8 Conversations

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**Chapter Eight – Conversations**

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Mohinder had disappeared into his bedroom for quite some time. Rory remained seated in the dark corner she found a liking to while Sylar was still tied to the chair in the center of the room. He was slowly recovering from the needle shoved into his spine, and he couldn't wait to hurt Mohinder and Rory for doing this to him. It had grown quiet even in the streets below. The sun was beginning to set and Rory's stomach ached. They hadn't eaten in hours and it was taking its toll. Suddenly another grumbling stomach entered the room. 

"I think I'm going to get us some food," Mohinder suggested reading Rory's thoughts.

"Ok," Rory replied and continued to stare out the window. "Where are you going?"

"There's a pizza parlor a few blocks down. I'll grab some salads and a pie. It shouldn't take long."

"Don't worry," she uttered and glared at Sylar. "He's not going anywhere."

"Alright, I'll be back."

When Mohinder left the room, Rory turned her sights to Sylar and said, "You're not going anywhere, are you?"

"Would it satisfy you if I say yes or no?" he snapped back.

"Damn it, Gabriel, don't you get it? Mohinder is going to kill you because you murdered his father. He's not as forgiving as I am."

"And that's your flaw," he replied finally looking up from the floor that had captivated him for the last hour. "You're too nice, Rory, and you know nice guys finish last. You should let the good doctor finish me and then you won't have to worry about using that beautiful power of yours. You can return to your house and live out the rest of your life without the fear of me coming to get you. Because you know that every day I am alive you worry about dying."

Rory couldn't lie. Gabriel was always good at reading through people and their secrets. She was never able to lie to him because he would call her out in a flash. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how much she missed Gabriel Gray. She didn't like Sylar. He was cruel and didn't have a moral bone in his body. Still she knew Gabriel was in there and she wouldn't rest until he was back.

"I want to know what you've done," she demanded and moved the chair behind the desk in front of Sylar. "Everything."

"This is hardly the time for conversations, Rory," Sylar replied sarcastically. "You should really be planning your escape."

"Tell me, Gabriel. So at least I can be prepared for what's to come."

When he didn't respond, Rory thought she would have to give him the satisfaction, if only once. She sighed and finally uttered, "Please … Sylar."

At the sound of his name, Sylar smirked and realized Rory was coming around. For a moment, he listened to her heartbeat and its steady rhythm. She had stayed shockingly calm during this entire endeavor and it proved impressive. In college, she was unlike any other girl he meant for the fact that she scared the hell out of him. She was tough and refused to give in easily. And apparently, she hasn't changed. She was determined as ever to reach him and he decided to give in for the time being. It would at least get her off his back.

"As you wish," he said softly. "I'll start from the beginning."

Rory listened closely as Sylar detailed everything. He began with him discovering his ability a few years after college. He followed in his father's footsteps and became a watchmaker in New York. From there he explained Chandra's arrival to their limitless tests. The growing impatience played a key role as it started to drive Gabriel crazy. He talked about stealing Brian Davis's address and calling him. The first murder that he committed and stealing the power of telekinesis was next followed by the murder of Chandra. He continued with his second, third, and so on killings. He focused a lot on the cheerleader that he was after to his capture by the cheerleader's father and his eventual escape. His attack on the family to his encounter with Mohinder and finally his long awaited reunion with Rory.

"And now, I'm tied to a chair, waiting to see if you kill me or not," he finished and took a deep breath.

Rory was silent. She had nothing to say to that. It was a dreadful story, one that was unavoidable. She looked at the man she once knew and didn't see him anymore. She only saw Sylar, a monster who took pleasure in killing others. The sight of him made her sick and she needed to be alone. Rising to her feet she put the chair back behind the desk and started for the door. Then she remembered.

The shield currently around him was growing faint and she needed to create a new one. Moving in front of Sylar she concentrated on the energy around her before closing her eyes. Sylar watched in awe as Rory's hands faced each other. Suddenly a small electrical current flashed between them followed by a glowing pale white light. She moved her right hand near Sylar and the light followed. Slowly she circled her hand in the air and the light obeyed, only it circled around Sylar instead. As it circled around him it faded, blending with the invisible air. When he looked at Rory her eyes were completely white. Once the shield was entirely invisible, her eyes returned to normal and without saying a word she left the room.

In the hall she found the darkest corner and hugged herself. Sylar's story terrified her and she wasn't sure if she could handle it anymore. The tears began to formulate and she couldn't hide them any longer. Her lungs filled up and she released herself.

Inside the room, Sylar leaned back in the chair and listened as Rory cried for herself, but most of all for Sylar.

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**Hey guys, sorry for the extremely long update and short chapter, but thanks to the No'easter, I had water in basement for a week and a half ... ugh! Anyway, Heroes was great on Monday!!! Just please remember, that from this chapter on, it will be an AU since I will be changing a lot from what has happened in the show. Anyway, enjoy, chapter 9 will be here soon.**


	9. Chapter 9 Time to Say Goodbye

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**Chapter Nine – Time To Say Goodbye**

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It was close to two-thirty in the morning. Mohinder had offered Rory his bedroom for the night, but she denied. She would rather stay out in the living room with Sylar. Mohinder didn't know why, but he was growing tired and wasn't going to argue. Instead he decided to get some sleep and then after a few hours wake up and let Rory use the bed. 

"Goodnight, Rory," he said when he finished cleaning his tea cup. "Be careful."

"Goodnight, Mohinder," she replied from the chair that was still nestled in the corner. "Don't worry."

"I don't get a goodnight?" Sylar teasingly asked. Rory glared at him while Mohinder just ignored the comment and continued into his room. When the door slammed shut, Sylar turned towards Rory and added, "Now it's just you and me."

"Yeah," she said and brushed back some hair. "How about that?"

It didn't take long for Rory to realize just how exhausted she was. Who wouldn't be after a day like hers? Between using her powers to keep Sylar at bay she was helping Mohinder work through the DNA sample. She was no chemist, but what they discovered was unbelievable and it would help them find the others. Now, if only they could find a way to keep Sylar out of the way.

"Why are you doing this?"

His question brought her out of her daze immediately. Peeking over she could see his face in the moonlight. His stubble looked like fire against it and his brown eyes almost appeared black. It was a frightening, yet beautiful sight.

"What?" she asked wanting to hear the question again.

"Why are you doing this?" he said again. "We're friends and friends don't tie each other to chairs and torture them with needles."

She scoffed, "Oh, yeah, we're such close friends. We _were_ friends, Gabriel, but now I don't know how to explain our relationship. We fell apart; it happens sometimes and although I wished it didn't . . . it did."

"What do you mean?"

"After you graduated we would always talk. We had regular lunch meetings and dinners. What happened? You met Mohinder's father and everything fell to pieces. You got greedy and you lost your way. You let Sylar take over. I thought you were stronger than that, but I guess I was wrong."

"It wouldn't be the first time."

When Rory turned towards him, Sylar realized he had to explain.

"We never kept secrets from each other because we always knew when the other was lying. Why did you never tell me about your power?"

"Because it was _after_ you stopped calling," she snapped and felt all the bent up rage streaming out. "I always remember how much you said you wished you were different; special. I did too. That's what we had in common. We both wanted something more and would do whatever we could do get it. When I found out about my power I wanted to call you because I knew _you_ would understand. But then I remembered how after the dozen of messages and letters you never responded. And I figured you wanted nothing more to do with me. So I kept it to myself, packed my bags and left. It was the only thing I could think of."

She faced the window again after exploding on him because she didn't want to look at him anymore. She was tired and fighting with him wasn't going to make it better. It actually made her more exhausted and gently laying her head down on her arm she drifted off into a deep sleep, one where her dreams were full of happiness with Gabriel.

He watched her fall asleep and mentally congratulated himself. He had wanted to get her out of the way while he plotted his escape. While Rory and Mohinder were eating, Sylar felt the shield around him fading. He noticed this because he had moved the pencil holder on Mohinder's desk slightly without their knowing. He now knew they Rory's "dead zone" was temporary depending on the amount of energy she puts into it. When she had fallen asleep and forgot to revamp the shield it was only a matter of time before he was free.

Every few minutes he concentrated on the pencil holder, using his telekinesis to move it little by little. He would home free when he could make it do whatever he wanted to, which occurred exactly twelve minutes later. The first thing he did was move the chair behind Mohinder's desk in front of his bedroom door. Jamming it against the knob it would prevent him from coming to the rescue. And he wanted to take his time with Rory. After everything she did to him, she deserved it.

Looking around he searched for something to push over so it would wake her and possibly Mohinder. Spotting the map he figured that would be loud enough. He waited for the right moment while he imagined it all in his head. Oh, how he couldn't wait to have Rory's power; it would make his possibilities limitless. He could even use it against the cheerleader when he found her again so when he started slicing her brain her regeneration wouldn't get in the way.

When the clock chimed three, Sylar used his power to kick over the map. The board toppled towards the desk, slamming into it. The clatter was louder than expected as it sent the pencil holder, papers, and cups cascading to the ground. Sylar grimaced because the crash echoed through his ears, making it seem louder than it was. Rory immediately woke up, startled out of her sleep. Sylar heard Mohinder stirring as the noise reached his ears as well. Rising on her feet, Rory stared at the map, now leaning against the desk. She could only imagine it was the wind or an unstable leg, but then she turned around and saw a lamp heading right for her.

She ducked in time causing the lamp to shatter against the wall, breaking a picture in the process. The broken glass and picture floated to the floor, now littered with hundreds of items. This crash had woken up Mohinder completely and he hurried towards the door only to find it barricaded.

"What the hell?" Rory shouted at Sylar who still sat tied with a large grin on his face. "How . . ."

She never completed her sentence because Sylar had used his telekinesis to lift up a piece of glass from the floor and sent it flying into her back. No where fatal, but somewhere enough to make it sting. The puncture shocked Rory that she froze in place. Mohinder was now banging on the door trying to fight his way through.

"Rory?!?!" he shouted hoping she wasn't dead yet.

Sylar, in the meantime, had lifted another piece of glass and had it cut through his restraints. Once he was free he pushed himself up, now standing three inches taller than Rory again. He moved towards her wanting to laugh at the irony, but decided against it. Suddenly he stopped when he noticed that she was not crying or begging. She was just standing there like she was open to him about to kill her.

Just then, Mohinder was able to burst through the door and saw Sylar standing before Rory. In his hand was the gun from before. Turning his eyes to the doctor, Sylar threw the gun from his hands and out the window. Mohinder looked back terrified, but Sylar wasn't going to kill him just yet. He wanted to do Rory first; that was the plan. With his mind he pushed Mohinder against the bedroom wall hard enough to knock him out. He crashed to the floor, some blood trickling from his head.

"Sorry for the interruption, my dear," Sylar said to Rory. "Now, where were we?"

Reaching out he grabbed Rory by the throat and gripped it firmly. Staring at her forehead he lifted his finger the same as always and concentrated on the section. All his other victims he would normally just look at the forehead, making sure his incision was accurate, but he didn't want to do that with Rory. Instead he lowered his gaze and looked right into her eyes.

"It's time to say goodbye, Rory," he growled with an evil smirk. Then he realized that looking into her eyes was a mistake for he noticed something that wasn't there before. Rory's eyes pleaded to him, but not so he wouldn't kill her. They were pleading him to remember who he was. To remember that Gabriel was still inside somewhere.

Unfortunately for Rory, it was Sylar and only Sylar that was looking at her and she knew she had failed. With the strength she had left, she grabbed onto his wrist holding her throat. Giving it a jerk forward she muttered, "Do it!"

Sylar scowled and looked back at her forehead. His finger pointed at it and his power ready he felt himself doing it, but he couldn't. His mind was telling his finger to cut her brain out, but his heart was telling him to stop. Looking back at her, he saw a single tear roll down her cheek, but he couldn't be sure what it meant. Then blackness took over Rory and she passed out.

Sylar's eyes widened when he saw her go limp and fall forward. Holding out his arms, he caught her and planted his feet into the floor to keep from falling himself. Feeling for the glass, Sylar used his own hand to pull it out. When he saw the blood on it, he tossed it aside disturbed by the sight.

From the window the moon shone through, illuminating Rory's face. He looked at it and saw all their memories dancing on her closed eyelids. What had stopped him from killing her he couldn't say, but it was strong, much stronger than the both of them. It let him know that he couldn't stay. If he stayed he was sure to hurt her and that was something he _didn't_ want. Glancing into Mohinder's room, Sylar had a plan. Lifting Rory into his arms he carried her into the bedroom and gently placed her on the bed, careful to keep the wound in sight. Mohinder was sure to have a needle and thread somewhere. With his telekinesis, Sylar tore apart the entire apartment, searching until he found the items he needed. He silently prayed it wasn't too late.

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**Ok, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I _loved_ writing it. This is so far my favorite chapter. Anyway, now that the semester is almost over, I'll be updating more. There are only 4 chapters left!!! I have a sequel planned already so I'll be developing that soon after this is finished. Anyway, the episode yesterday was so great! Enjoy!**


	10. Chapter 10 Seeking Help

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Chapter Ten – Seeking Help

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The pain shot up Rory's back the instant she opened her eyes. A simple movement made the pain worse as though hundreds of daggers were stabbing her. Groaning she slowly reached her hand behind her and stroked the core of the soreness. Moving her hand under her tank top—that she didn't remember changing into—she felt inches from her spine stitch work. It was small, maybe two inches long, but she wasn't sure. It was not the best work one could do, but it was sufficient enough.

Her head also pounded and she tried to remember what had happened. A lot of things were blurry. Swinging her legs off the bed she hunched over searching her mind for answers. She remembered having Sylar tied to a chair and talking to him about memories in college. She remembered Mohinder leaving for pizza and then he went to bed. Just then Rory's foot brushed across something on the floor. Opening her eyes she peered down in the darkness and made out a figure. Reaching over, she turned on the lamp and saw Mohinder lying on the ground.

"Oh, my God, Mohinder!" she squealed and kneeled down beside him. Wrapping her arms around him she turned him on his back and lightly patted his face. "Mohinder, wake up! Come on!"

He grunted and she thanked God. Sylar could have easily killed him. Then it came to her. Sylar had escaped. She forgot to revamp the shield and he used his power to stab her. Strange that he was about to take her power, but he didn't. All she remembered after that was passing out and waking up on the bed.

"Are you alright?" she asked as Mohinder stirred more.

"Yeah," he mumbled and pushed himself upwards. "What…what happened?"

"Sylar's gone."

"What?!" he shouted and nearly jumped to his feet. However, when he shouted he grabbed his back. It still ached from where he hit it against the wall. Then he looked at Rory curiously. "And you're still alive?"

"Tell me about it," she teased and helped him to his feet. Carefully she lowered him on the bed. "Stay here."

As Mohinder collected himself in the bedroom, Rory hurried into the living room. She stopped dead when she saw the state of it. Desk drawers were pulled out completely, the items in them scattered on the floor. The map was leaning against the desk. Glass was piled in the corner and Rory remembered how Sylar made one of the pieces fly into her back. It was a total disaster area.

"This is not good," she whispered.

An hour later, Rory and Mohinder had put most of the stuff back in order. He wasn't concerned about the drawers and map, but wanted to sweep the stuff from the middle of the floor.

"I'm sorry, Mohinder, this was my fault," Rory said while she cleaned up the glass.

"Don't say that," he replied tenderly. "He was too powerful and we didn't think of the consequences incase he got free. We're lucky to be alive."

"I guess your right. I just don't understand what stopped him."

"And we'll never know."

As Mohinder kept cleaning, Sylar's retraction continued bugging Rory. There had to be a _good_ reason why he didn't slice her head open. It's not everyday a serial killer decides to let someone live.

"Where do you think he went?" she asked not expecting an answer.

"Most likely to find more people and steal their abilities," Mohinder snapped obviously upset about his escape.

"I have to find him," she said softly with intent for him to hear.

"Yeah…wait, what?"

"I have to find him," she said again and rose to her feet.

"Why?"

"To stop him, of course."

"Rory, no offense, but your only one person. How do you expect to stop him with all the abilities he has stolen?"

"I don't know, but I have to try." Mohinder was about to speak, but Rory put up her hand to silence him. "Look, Mohinder, I know I don't always think before I act, but something tells me that I can stop him. I don't know how I'm gonna do it on my own, but I'm gonna try."

Setting down the dust plan full of glass, Rory hurried to the bedroom and slipped on her jacket. Her bag was still on the chair in the living room. She didn't bother taking her clothes, just her cell phone, some money, and ID; items that would easily fit in her pocket.

"Let me go with you," Mohinder offered and she was waiting for it.

"No," she immediately replied. "This is something I have to do alone."

"No, not alone."

Rory didn't know what Mohinder meant, but he wasted no time. Finding a pen and piece of paper he wrote quickly. Handing the paper to her he added, "Here, this is someone who will be able to help you. He's someone like you; someone with abilities."

Rory read the name aloud, "Peter Petrelli?"

"He lives in the city," Mohinder explained. "His brother's running for Congress."

"Nathan Petrelli, right."

"Peter can help you. He's probably the only one who can. I'm not sure where he is now, but don't face Sylar without him."

"I'll find him, don't worry, thanks," Rory proclaimed and smiled politely. "Take care of yourself, Mohinder."

Hugging him quickly she added, "We'll see each other again."

And before he could reply, Rory was out the door, praying she wasn't too late to save others like her. She also prayed she would find this Peter Petrelli and that his ability was something special or else they were done.

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It had been almost a day and a half and Rory had no luck. There was no sign of Sylar or Peter anywhere. She had asked a few people about Nathan and got all the same responses. Nathan's running for Congress, his brother was apparently depressed, Linderman was aiding the campaign, blah, blah, blah. Rory heard of Linderman, but never thought anything of him. She didn't owe him anything and she planned on keeping it that way.

Around two o'clock she entered a café for something to eat. Having a slight headache she glanced down and rubbed her temples. The television in the corner was on the news and she half listened to the anchor.

"Early this morning the police have found the body of 56 year-old Virginia Gray."

At the sound of a familiar name, Rory looked up. Virginia Gray was Gabriel's mother! Rory met her only once and now she was dead.

"She was found murdered in her apartment in Queens, having been stabbed with a pair of scissors," the anchor explained. "Also found beside her was a painting. Police have not yet released a description of the portrait only that it was done with her own blood. There are no suspects at this time although a neighbor did reveal that she was not alone the night of the murder."

A painting? Who would have murdered Gabriel's mother and then took the time out to draw a picture with her blood? It didn't make sense, but somehow, Rory knew it had to be connected to everything.

It was almost nine and Rory still had no leads. She was beginning to lose hope and realized how useless it all was. If she ever saw Sylar again he would most likely rip out her brain. If she _ever_ found this Peter Petrelli, would he even believe her? And how was she supposed to stop Sylar? That was it. She had enough and decided it was time to go home and let everything go back to normal. There was no guarantee that Sylar would come after her and if he did, she could still stop him with her power, so long she was awake when he came. Hailing a cab, Rory realized it was time to give up.

There were many ways one could get out of New York City and this driver decided to take a route Rory knew nothing about. It was certainly through the "empty" streets since the only buildings she saw were over eight foot fences. And of course, the driver took the route with the most traffic. At nine thirty, Rory couldn't figure out what the hold up was. Cars were still, not even a slight crawl. Able to see flashing lights ahead, the driver excused himself and stepped out.

"What?" Rory said throwing her arms in the air. _Typical_, she thought. _An accident and everyone wants to see_.

Then two people hurried by and Rory caught the tail end of the one's sentence, "some guy's head was sliced open."

That certainly got her attention. Opening the door she walked slowly towards the congregation of people. They were peering through the metal fence at the scene of the accident. An FBI prisoner truck was upside down, the back of the door ripped clear off.

Looking through the fence, Rory saw police examine the inside where the body was. She couldn't see who the person was and she was thankful. She really didn't want to see the results of Sylar's attacks.

This was a breakthrough for her. She now knew that Sylar was still in the city, but was he still here? She couldn't tell and she probably was never going to. Sighing, she pushed her way past the people trying to get a closer look. Moving behind the crowd she shook her head, upset with the fact that she had failed. It was over and there was nothing she could do. Then she came upon another conversation.

"Does that mean Sylar can do what Ted could do?" a young girl asked.

"He's the one," the man beside her replied. "He's gonna wipe out the entire city."

"You've got to stop him."

"I don't think I can. The last time I fought Sylar he killed me."

Rory nearly lost her breath. Were those two just talking about Sylar? She knew she wasn't going crazy. Then she heard him say to the girl, "Come on, come on."

She located them. A man in his twenties was leading a young girl away from the crowd. Rory silently followed them. She wasn't sure if he was who she thought, but there was no harm in trying. When they approached the car she called out, "Peter Petrelli?"

When both the man and girl turned to her she knew she had finally found him.

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**Ok, so here is Ch. 10 finally. I was waiting for a few more episodes so I could try to keep them working together. I'm pleased with how this turned out. There will be one or two more chapters after the season finale has aired and then I'll be working on the sequel. Enjoy it!**


	11. Chapter 11 Facts Revealed

**Alright, so I decided to make another chapter before the final one. This is just Rory talking with Peter and Claire (note: a lot of dialogue). Enjoy it and make sure to watch the Season Finale tomorrow night!!!

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Chapter Eleven – Facts Revealed

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Rory, Peter, and Claire stood outside the car in silence. After Rory had called out his name he wasn't sure whether she could be trusted or not. Rory was the one who started the conversation.

"Peter, don't worry, I'm not here to harm you or her," she promised holding her hands up. "Mohinder Suresh told me about you. He said you could help me."

"Mohinder?" Peter replied with curiosity. "How do you know him?"

"Because he and I kept Sylar captive together trying to find answers."

"You kept him captive?" Claire said with a slight giggle. "How were _you_ able to keep him contained?"

Then Peter interrupted after looking at Rory for some time. "Wait…I think-I think I painted you."

"Excuse me?" Rory snapped, but was cut off by another voice.

"Hey, miss!" the driver shouted just then. Rory rolled her eyes and turned around. He approached aggressively causing Claire to back up and Peter to get defensive. "Are you going to pay me or what?!"

"Not now," Rory whispered loudly and stared deep into the driver's eyes. She was tired and just wanted to find Sylar and this driver was not making it easier. She didn't have to call a lot of energy to knock him out. It happened within seconds. It wasn't enough to kill him, but he would be out for a few hours.

Turning back to Peter and Claire, Rory continued, "Now where were we?"

Minutes later, the three were miles away from the wreck. Peter parked under a bridge where they had some privacy. He drove cautiously and Claire kept her eyes forward. Neither was sure they could trust her yet and she understood why.

When they got out of the car Peter and Claire stayed on one side together while Rory paced back and forth.

"What the hell happened back there?" Peter said first and Rory was expecting it.

"I can cause unconsciousness and also create a dead zone," she replied, stopping to catch her breath.

"A dead zone?" Claire muttered.

"I can cancel out the powers of others either by looking at you or by creating a force shield around you," Rory explained. Afterwards Claire nodded in understanding.

"And you did this to Sylar?" Peter chimed in again.

"Yes, but I didn't revamp it and he got away, nearly killing me and Mohinder."

"If he knew you had a power why didn't he kill you?"

"Because we knew each other in college. We were friends, best friends you could say. I'm not really sure what stopped him, but before he escaped we had a few conversations about our time together and it was refreshing. It appeared that he enjoyed it."

"How did you know where to find me?" Peter needed to ask.

"I didn't," Rory shrugged. "I was on my way home when I heard someone say something about a guy's brain being sliced out. I looked at the wreck and was about to leave when I heard your conversation. I only assumed you were Peter and I was right."

"And what help did Mohinder say I could offer you?"

"He said you were like me."

"We both are," Claire added and Rory glared at the teenager strangely. It was clear they needed to reveal their powers to really trust each other.

"I can heal," Claire said, but when Rory looked even more confused she explained further, "Like Wolverine from X-Men."

"Regeneration?"

"Yeah."

When Rory looked back at Peter she noticed him staring at her intensely. She didn't know what he was doing and was a little scared.

"You have no idea, do you?" he finally uttered.

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't know what Sylar plans on doing?"

"No, what…wait…did you just read my mind?" Peter looked away shyly. "You're a mind reader?"

"Among other things," he mumbled and Rory leaned against the car on her elbows.

"Among _other_ things?"

"I absorb the powers of others like us," he clarified. "Some are harder to control than others, but I'm getting the hang of it."

"Wow," Rory sighed and grinned. She never thought she would meet others like her and now she has come across several, one of whom was planning to…well, she didn't know. "And what is Sylar planning?"

"The guy he killed tonight had radioactive powers. There was a painting about a bomb going off and we all thought it was me, but now it's Sylar. He's going to destroy New York City."

Peter kept talking, but Rory wasn't really listening. She was too busy remembering something that Sylar had told her at Mohinder's apartment. She thought for a few minutes to make sure she had all her theories correct.

"Wait!" she shouted and Peter immediately silenced. "You're the one he fought in Texas?" Peter nodded. "And you're the cheerleader he tried to kill?" Claire nodded. "Oh, my, God. And now he's going to blow up New York?"

"Well, we're not entirely sure. All we know is that there are several others trying to stop him."

"Like who?"

Together Peter and Claire explained to Rory everyone they had met. The time-traveling Hiro to the mind-reading Matt. The recently deceased Ted and Claire's father who was apart of an underground agency to study people like them. Peter talked about Isaac, the artist who painted the future and Claude, the invisible man who assisted him in taking control of his power. They described Nathan, the flying man who was just elected into Congress. In return, Rory told them everything she knew about Sylar. She explained how she and Mohinder had used his blood to create another list. Finally, they all wondered why Sylar did not kill her.

"This is like…destiny," Rory said softly. "Like we were all supposed to meet."

Peter nodded in agreement as did Claire. There was a lot of talk about destiny lately, but it all turned out to be true. They _all_ had a purpose in this fight and they each needed to help save the world.

"So now what?" Claire asked when the lingering silence annoyed her for the last time.

"We stop Sylar," Peter replied and turned to Rory. "Can you show me how to use your power?"

"You've absorbed mine?" she asked and when he said yes she agreed so long as he promised to leave Sylar for her. She couldn't be sure if she would survive this explosion, but if she still had the opportunity the stop Sylar she was going to take it. His actions at Mohinder's apartment were transparent. He _did_ enjoy their conversations and he proved that by not killing her. Somewhere Sylar still had a heart; it just needed to be revived. Rory figured she was the only one who could do that.

Not that far away, Sylar stood on the top of a building overlooking New York City. The night lights were beautiful and mesmerizing, like a thousand Christmas lights. But he didn't care about that. He was too busy testing out his new radioactive powers. One at a time he opened and closed his hands, creating a small ball of energy. Then he closed his eyes and practiced with both hands.

This was it; the final step into fulfilling is destiny. After igniting both hands and putting it out he looked out at the city with a sadistic grin. There was nothing that could stop him now and to savor his victory he took a slight breath and said one word to describe the events that would follow, "Boom."

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**Alright, tomorrow night is the season finale and I should have the final chapter posted by Tuesday/Wednesday. Enjoy it.**


	12. Chapter 12 Battle of the Heroes

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Chapter Twelve – Battle of the Heroes

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Rory, Peter, and Claire were driving back into the city, the opposite of their initial plan. Claire was holding her cell phone to her ear, waiting for the other end to answer. Finally she said, "Dad?" Rory couldn't hear the other person, but listened as Claire explained to him that Sylar killed Ted and had taken his power. Then she passed the phone to Peter.

Peter continued the conversation when he added, "We have someone else who can help us."

Rory and Claire listened closely as Peter concluded the discussion and handed Claire back her phone. He glanced softly at Claire who looked frightened. Why wouldn't she be? She was just a kid and Rory could only imagine what she was going through.

"Any idea where he is?" Rory decided to ask. Peter shook his head slowly making it clear they had no luck.

"They have a tracking system, but it's broken," he replied. "They're fixing it now."

"Good," Rory sighed and leaned back.

Peter made a quick right when Claire suddenly cried, "Hang on!" Turning back to face Rory she continued, "Can't you just use your power to stop him?"

"What are you talking about?" Peter said and Rory knew where this was going.

"Peter, you thought I was the only one who could stop you, but that's not true. Rory can stop others from using their power. She can stop Sylar from exploding."

"She's right," Peter agreed and looked at Rory through the rearview mirror. "You can stop him and me if it comes to that."

"It's not that simple," Rory retorted and rubbed her forehead.

"Why not?" Claire argued back.

"Peter, you're the only one with powers that match Gab…Sylar's. Besides, he knows what I can do. He won't let me near him. You have to knock him out enough for me to put the shield up and then if necessary I can stop you."

Peter and Claire thought about her speech and realized she was right. Peter _was_ the only one who could fight Sylar. Once he had him down then Rory could do her thing and then keep Peter from exploding.

Rory then noticed that Peter had turned into a parking garage. She and Claire looked around curiously, wondering what they were doing here. Peter stopped and through the window Nathan stood leaning against a pole.

Peter and Claire had a spat before he left the car and Rory cautiously asked, "Who's that?"

"Nathan, Peter's brother and my father," Claire replied with an angry tone.

The girls watched the brothers talk for some time. Nathan pulled Peter aside and when Claire saw this she took off her seatbelt.

"Whoa, where are you going?" Rory asked, following her out of the car.

"I can't stay here," she replied. "Nathan is trouble. Stay with Peter, I'll be fine, don't worry."

"No, Claire!" Rory shouted but Claire had taken off. "Peter!"

Peter arrived and saw that Claire was gone. Nathan was close behind him and when he saw Rory his eyes became confused. The next thing she knew, Peter had grabbed Rory's hand and started running. She turned and saw that Nathan was looking for them, but couldn't see. Were they invisible?

A few minutes later they appeared outside the garage, Peter calling Claire's name. Looking at his hands, Rory said, "Peter?" His hands starting glowing, the radiation breaking through.

"No, this isn't happening!" he shouted and Rory took hold of his shoulders. Turning him around she stared deep into his eyes, pulling out enough energy to put him down. He didn't say anything, but he was grateful for what she had done. Falling over he landed hard on the street, his hands returning to normal. Now, Rory just had to wait for him to wake up.

It had been almost a half hour and Peter still wasn't awake. Rory was getting nervous. She hoped she didn't pull too much energy out; otherwise it would be days before he opened his eyes. Pacing back and forth she suddenly heard footsteps coming their way. There was no way of knowing who they belonged to and so she readied herself for the worse. Standing straight up she called forth the energy again and when the person appeared through the darkness she sent a slight jolt.

"Whoa!" he cried reaching for his head. "Don't worry; I'm not here to hurt you. I'm Claire's father."

That was sufficient enough and Rory concealed the energy. A tall man, about six foot two approached, his horn rimmed glasses off while he rubbed the area above his nose.

"That was naughty," he said to Rory who shrugged.

"I couldn't be sure who you were," she replied and extended her hand. "I'm Rory."

After introductions they knelt down and proceeded to push Peter awake. When he finally came to he and Bennet talked about the tracking system that allowed Bennet to find them. They discussed Claire who was on her way out of the city with Peter's mother and that they have an idea of where Sylar is.

"Thank you, Mr. Bennet," Peter said graciously.

"Call me Noah."

Kirby Plaza was a large courtyard between several business buildings. In the center was a large fountain with a sculpture of two orange staircases twisting into each other. Rory had been here once when she was younger with her father. They were told that Sylar was here though he was nowhere to be found.

"That means he's hiding in plane sight," Peter revealed apparently knowing how Sylar worked. Then a tap came on Bennet's shoulder and he turned. Sylar raised two fingers, sending Bennet soaring through the air. He crashed into a column, dislocating his shoulder. Rory and Peter turned around to see Sylar glaring at them.

"What took you so long?" he snapped to Peter.

"Gabriel, please," Rory started but was cut off by her body being tossed through the air like Bennet's. Sylar threw her away and she landed beside Bennet. She hit her leg wrong, but luckily didn't hear anything break.

Before them, Sylar was beginning to choke Peter with his telekinesis. Five people emerged from the building, among them was Mohinder. Rory then saw another man appear from the corner. He fired a gun at Sylar, but he stopped them. Turning them around he sent them flying into the man who groaned and fell back.

Rory needed to use her power on Sylar, but all she felt was the pain in her leg. A woman with blonde hair had approached Sylar and hit him with the parking meter he intended to use on Peter. He fell to his knees and Peter removed his jacket, sending the woman away. In the meantime, Rory tried to stand, but the pain shot through her leg and up to her head.

She glanced up and saw Peter throwing punch after punch into Sylar's face. It was brutal and she found it ironic that though the two of them had an assortment of powers they were fighting the old fashioned way. Sylar took every punch and after a few seconds he looked at Peter and started laughing. Bennet glanced towards Peter, whose hands started glowing. Rory followed his gaze and saw that Peter had lost control and the radioactive power was consuming him again.

"No!" Peter shouted and moved away from Sylar who was still laughing. Finding his balance he pushed himself up and stared at his enemy victoriously.

"Turns out you're the villain, Peter," he teased. "I'm the hero."

Rory had to do something. Groaning she got to her feet, ignoring the pain, and started towards him. She heard Bennet's faint cry of disproval, but she had to stop him. If she couldn't stop Peter then she could at least stop Sylar.

Her leg still ached from where she hit it, but she kept moving, closer to Sylar as he watched Peter get more out of control. Finally when she was inches from him he turned and held out his hand. Using his telekinesis, he brought her to him so her throat was engulfed by his hand. The wind kicked out of her, but she could still breathe. He wasn't gripped her tight enough to cut off the flow of air. He had her lifted a few inches from the ground and it was not comfortable. Here she was again, in his grasp and waiting for his finger to start slicing her head.

However, he surprised her when he put his mouth close to her and ear and whispered, "Run!"

"What?" she choked out not really sure she heard him correctly.

"Run!" he said again.

Then suddenly someone said with an accent, "Sylar!"

Throwing Rory gently aside, Sylar turned and saw Hiro glaring hard at him; his sword ready.

"Gabriel," Rory coughed since her voice was not fully recovered. She tried dragging herself to her feet, but it was no use. She was exhausted and achy.

"You!" Sylar cried and before he could anything, Hiro charged fiercely. Within seconds his sword was protruding from Sylar's back, blood-stained and cold.

"NO!" Rory shouted when Hiro retracted the sword from Sylar who slumped forward to the ground. "Gabriel!"

Rory didn't pay much attention after that. She saw Peter beg Hiro to kill him and then Hiro was sent flying through the air. He teleported before he hit the building and when Rory turned to Sylar his head was lifted, having used his power to throw Hiro. Then he lowered it again and he was immobile. Not long after, Rory passed out from fatigue.

"Rory," a distant voice called; one that was familiar and friendly. "Rory? Come on, please wake up."

Slowly her eyes opened and she saw the warm face of Mohinder staring down at her. Beside him was a small girl with long brown hair. She had a sweet smile and haunting eyes.

"Mohinder?" Rory sighed and tried sitting up.

"No, relax," he replied and held her down. "The paramedics are here."

"What happened?"

"Nathan and Peter flew and then Peter exploded," he explained as best he could in small words. "Everyone's fine, well, I can't speak for Nathan and Peter or Matt."

The girl glanced down sadly when Mohinder said this, although Rory did not know why. She remembered Sylar throwing bullets into another man, whom she could only assume was this Matt. She didn't have time to answer more questions because the paramedics arrived and began working on her.

Fifteen minutes later, Rory wandered around Kirby Plaza thinking about the past events. Never did she image this would happen to her. First that she would have a power like out of a comic book and secondly that she would have to save the world. Sure, she didn't do a lot, but she felt she did enough, particularly with Sylar. Then she remembered! Sylar had collapsed. Running over to the area where it happened she found a puddle of his blood, but no body. However, there was a trail from the puddle. It led towards the nearest manhole that was open.

"Officer!" she shouted and within seconds one appeared beside her. "There was someone here not too long ago. Can you check the sewers?"

The officer obliged and gathered a small team. An hour or so later they emerged with no news. They found nothing; no body, no blood. Rory thanked them before wrapping her arms for warmth from the cool breeze. She could only guess that Sylar went somewhere peaceful to end his life. How he didn't die from that stab wound she didn't know, but either way it was over and there was nothing left for her here anymore.

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**What a great season finale! I can't wait for Season 2. Anyway, there is one last chapter that sort of sets up my sequel. Enjoy!**


	13. Chapter 13 Three Months Later

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Chapter Thirteen – 3 Months Later

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It was a beautiful February night. The moon was shining and the snow that had fallen last week was finally beginning to melt. Rory sat in her living room drinking her hot chocolate. She sat in her armchair near the window with a book resting on her lap. When she returned home after the dreaded bomb scare she had decided to completely refurbish her life. She rearranged her furniture, painted her walls new colors, and found a new job; one she enjoyed more than her previous one.

There was still no word yet about Peter and Nathan as she kept in contact with Mr. Bennet, Claire, and Mohinder. It was horrible what had happened to them and she prayed they would turn up and hopefully they turned up alive.

Glancing towards the clock she saw it had stopped working. Sighing, she rose to her feet and pulled her cell phone from her bag. It was nine thirty-two though it felt like midnight. Rory hadn't been able to sleep peacefully since that night. She still thought about Sylar and what could have possibly happened to him. The police continued the search for a few weeks before giving up since it was wasting their time and money.

Rory, too, realized it was pointless. Sylar was probably long gone; maybe sitting in a café in Europe, looking for more people with abilities to kill. Or he could really be dead. She hoped it wasn't the latter. Deciding to fall asleep early, Rory gathered her book and mug. Inside the kitchen, she rinsed out the mug before placing it on a towel to dry overnight. When she was about to turn off the light she heard a faint noise.

Not sure of what it was she listened again. It came once more and this time it sounded like it was right outside the back door. Unlocking it she opened it ajar and peered outside. The back was completely covered in snow. Small animal footprints were scattered over it, making it look like a work of art. Looking around in the darkness, Rory noticed nothing out of the blue. When a quick chill passed her she shut the door, locking it again. Then she heard another noise. This one, however, was coming from the living room.

Moving through the archway she stepped slowly, trying to afford the creaking wood. Peeking around the corner wall towards the television she looked up at the clock on the wall. It was ticking and working! Backing up slowly, Rory felt a familiar presence in the room and it was standing right behind her.

She didn't want to turn slowly so instead flung herself around, her hair whipping behind her. There he was standing like nothing happened three months ago. He had no wound and didn't look any worse than usual. His dark brown eyes stared deep into hers and it was compelling. Rory had lost her voice when she turned and saw him, but somehow it found its way back. Taking a deep breath she whispered, "Sylar?"

With an eerie grin spreading across his face he replied, "Hello, Rory."

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**I've already begun the outline on the sequel so look for it soon! Thanks for reading and please review! See you soon -- Jess**


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